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1816IIHF News from www.iifh.comTYPO3 - get.content.righthttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssThu, 08 Dec 2016 15:06:00 +0100Championship behind the sceneshttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/championship-behind-the-scenes/
VIDEO: Backstage look at a junior tournament/What do the events look like? You may have a glimpse from top events you may have visited or seen on TV or behind-the-scenes videos like this one from the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in the Czech Republic with stars, huge arenas, world-famous cities and millions of fans following. /But what does it look like at the many lower-division events? What needs to be done to organize such tournaments that happen away from the spotlight of the big hockey nations in many other of the 77 IIHF member countries? /The Romanian Ice Hockey Federation and the organizers in Brasov documented what happened around the rink during the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship Division II Group A last spring where Poland earned promotion ahead of host Romania, Lithuania, Great Britain, Croatia and the Netherlands. /Check out the action on and off the ice and what players, coaches, staff and volunteers say in this 14-minute documentary soon before the first international championships of the season begin this Sunday.]]>on topWorldsU18RomaniaThu, 08 Dec 2016 15:06:00 +0100Christmas season offershttp://
More Team Tickets available. Free tickets to win!With barely 150 days to go until the first puck drop, the Organizing Committee of the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Cologne, Germany and Paris, France (5-21 May) is making special Christmas Season offers to the fans of all participating nations:

The much requested limited contingent of "Team Tickets" has for once been enhanced in order to give more fans the opportunity to follow their team for the entire group phase in either Cologne or Paris. The “Team Ticket” is a complete package consisting of all seven preliminary round games of the dedicated team at the 2017 IIHF WM. However, all seven tickets per package will be issued as single tickets per game and will be transferable. The "Team Ticket" starts at 133 € only for the full package and is available while stock lasts. Another attractive surprise to be found under the Christmas tree may be the Day Ticket, giving access to all games of a dedicated tournament day and offering an opportunity to celebrate a full day of World Championship atmosphere at any of the 15 game days. Starting at only 29 € for Paris and 34 € for Cologne, the Day Ticket features a price advantage of up to 10% vs. later offered single game tickets. Also available continue to be larger packages such as the Group Round Packages and the Venue Packages for either Paris or Cologne, the Final Round Package for Cologne and the Final Weekend Package for Cologne.

And by the way: As the Christmas Season is the time of gifts and nice surprises, fans now have the unique opportunity to win free 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship tickets every day until the 24th December. Participation is possible by joining the 2017 IIHF Worlds Facebook Event under www.iihf.com/JoinThe2017Worlds and clicking on the daily 2017 IIHF Worlds Advent Calendar posts. ]]>WorldsMen08 Germany07 Franceon leftThu, 08 Dec 2016 14:00:00 +0100Building a better gamehttp://www.iihf.com/competition/271/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=11210
IIHF Central Committee Meetings underwayThe three-day event began on Wednesday and is a¬¬imed at promoted synergies and fostering new partnerships among the various committee members, who come from a wide range of backgrounds but share the same love and passion for the sport.

In all the IIHF has 19 committees and working groups, whose new members were named during the 2016 IIHF Semi-Annual Congress last September. The central meetings mark the first time that these member have gotten together. In total 124 different persons coming from 31 different countries were named to the committees as suggested by the IIHF membership. This number does not include ad-hoc members and external experts who may be involved as well.

The Central Committee Meetings opened with a welcome speech from IIHF President René Fasel. He pointed out the challenges facing ice hockey, specifically his concerns with player safety, which will be addressed by the Player Safety Committee comprised of acting IIHF Vice-President Bob Nicholson, and includes former and current hockey players like Jiri Fischer, Stéphane Quintal and Victor Stancescu.

“Player safety must be one of our biggest priorities,” said Fasel. “This is why we decided to have these meetings, to help bring in ideas from all the experts. It’s not a simple solution, we need advice from doctors, from players, from equipment manufacturers. Most of these experts are here with us today.”

The committees are highly specialized and designed to come up with concrete recommendations to improve the sport of ice hockey. Aside from the usual committees for Competition, Development, Coaching, and Officiating to name a few, new committees have also been created to help tackle some of the modern new the IIHF faces in the modern sports world.

For example, a TV/New Media/Marketing Committee will follow developments in the area of new media and evaluate new elements in the sports marketing, such as virtual advertising. An independent Ethics and Integrity Committee has also been set up to advise the Council and the President on all elements of an ethical nature and develop educational materials and measures for all other Committee members and other IIHF bodies on ethical correct behavior.

Another topic mentioned by Fasel in the opening session was the need to promote the sport in Asia, a responsibility largely falling to the Asian Committee headed by Thomas Wu but could also foster synergy efforts with other committees like TV/Broadcast.

“With the Olympics coming to Asia twice in Korea and then China, we need to treat these events as a tool to help to promote the sport in this region. Chinese President Xi Jinping said that he wants to have 300 million Chinese practise winter sport. If ice hockey can catch even one percent of this number that’s three million new players, more than the rest of the world put together.”

The introductory presentation to the committees was given by former NHLer and current German national team coach Marco Sturm, who outlined some of the main challenges facing ice hockey. Drawing from his own experience, Sturm highlighted noticeable inconsistencies in the level of coaching training and education, which he believed is holding back player development in the growing hockey nations.

“The skill level of coaches needs to be raised, particularly at the youth level, we need to draw on the experience of top ice hockey nations and create ways where we can transfer knowledge and coaching skills to developing hockey countries.”

Sturm also mentioned the issues he has in getting players to compete in tournaments during international breaks, citing motivational issues and exhaustion due to an often busy ice hockey schedule that includes domestic games, international games, and international club play such as Champions Hockey League.

On the safety issue, Sturm was in full support of new measures like the concussion protocol, which has caused some players to be removed from a game for assessment. Despite player protest, Sturm maintain that these kinds of protocols are necessary for the long-term health of the player and to a further extent the health of the game itself.

“As a coach I respect it,” he said. “I see the need for it, if the player needs time to come back, whether it be five days or five months, he will get it.”

Following the opening day, the committees will conduct internal discussions and also hold joint meetings with each other on issues that fall into their respective realms of influence. Committee action plans will be presented on the final day on Friday, 9 December.

ADAM STEISS]]>on rightIIHFThu, 08 Dec 2016 12:15:00 +0100Shaping rostershttp://www.worldjunior2017.com/en/news/shaping-rosters/
World Juniors teams convene soonThe first puck drop will be in 19 days from now and already next week the first exhibition games will take place on Canadian soil at various venues in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Before the teams battle for medals, players will compete for a spot on the team roster to make the trip to the World Juniors. Find below the candidates who were named. The teams can register up to 23 players (20 skaters and three goaltenders) for the tournament. We will keep you up to date in the Teams section in the menu. The official player registration for the tournament will take place on 25th December in the night.

The IIHF has reviewed the hosting applications and considered the ranking of all qualified teams after the semi-final tournaments, the standard of previous organizations, arenas, accommodation situation as well as the proposed tournament dates since not all applicants had their venue available for the originally agreed dates of 13-15 January.

Ritten Sport is a second-time participant in the Continental Cup but already successfully hosted two semi-final events in 2014 and 2016 and qualified for the final tournament for the first time. It will be the second time that the Continental Cup Final will take place in Italy after 2003 when Milan co-hosted the event with Lugano, Switzerland.

The finalists battling for the Continental Cup are host Ritten Sport, the Nottingham Panthers from Great Britain, Kazakh champion Beibarys Atyrau and the Odense Bulldogs from Denmark who qualified through the semi-final tournaments in November.

The winner of the 2017 IIHF Continental Cup will get the chance to play in the Champions Hockey League 2017/2018 pending formal approval by the CHL board as it was the case with the last three winners – the Stavanger Oilers from Norway in 2014, Neman Grodno from Belarus in 2015 and the Rouen Dragons from France in 2016.

The 2016/2017 season is the Continental Cup’s 20-year-anniversary season. Click on the right for a video looking back at the past winners.]]>on topClub09 Italy05 Denmark11 KazakhstanGreat Britainon leftTue, 06 Dec 2016 09:46:00 +0100Media accreditation openhttp://www.iihf.com/competition/271/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=11204
2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Media accreditation for the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Cologne, Germany and Paris, France is now open to print and photo journalists, and can be requested online until 3 February 2017.

Click here to access the registration formBroadcast accreditation (Radio, TV, and websites with audio/video coverage) will open in mid-December.]]>on rightMon, 05 Dec 2016 14:07:00 +0100Frolunda’s quest for dynastyhttp://www.iihf.com/competition/271/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=11203
Champs want back-to-back CHL titlesThe reigning champions Frolunda Gothenburg find themselves once again in the CHL quarter-finals in a competition that they have embraced as a club and performed well in since its inaugural season in 2014/15.

The Swedish club has not only topped the table in the group stage over the past three seasons, but pushed its way to two consecutive championship finals, losing to Lulea HF the first time, however, they redeemed that loss last season with a 2-1 victory over Finnish giants Karpat Oulu in enemy territory.

The consistency in their results proves that Frolunda takes the CHL seriously, from the players out on the ice to the team that sits in the board room. Although, the league is in the process of building its prestige towards the fans in some of the top countries, the players and management see the importance of each and every game and want to lift the Champions Hockey League trophy at the end of the season.

“It is important. There’s some stuff that we want to achieve this season and one is to win the CHL again this season,” explains Frolunda star defenceman Henrik Tommernes. “We won it last year. We had a good run and it was really fun. The management want us to go all the way this year too. We had a good start but now it is getting tougher.”

The 2015/16 season produced the results that Frolunda had been building towards for many years, not only in the CHL but in the Swedish Hockey League as well. Since head coach Roger Ronnberg took over the reins in Gothenburg in 2013/14, the “Indians” have played second fiddle to Skelleftea AIK and lived in the shadows of the northerner’s dynasty, although, it has always felt that they were on the cusp of something great.

Last year Frolunda finally broke through to begin a winning era of their own by taking out the double, the Champions Hockey League and the Swedish Hockey League.

“It feels like we have been doing well. Last year we had a really good season and the year before we went to the semi-finals (SHL) and lost the final in CHL as well,” says Tommernes. “We have a good team. There is a lot of young guys who are coming up and doing a great job. They develop quick and some guys stay here and some guys go to the NHL. It feels like the system that we have here right now with Roger [Ronnberg] and the coaches is really looking up.”

“We have been a really good team with a lot of skill but mostly everyone is working really, really hard. We don’t just talk about it, we actually do it. If you have that much skill in the team and everyone is working harder than the other teams, it is successful. There are a lot of moments there where you have to do the best game every time especially in the playoffs and we have been doing that well.”

For Frolunda to continue their winning ways and set up another chance to play in their third consecutive Champions Hockey League final, they will need to get past their SHL rivals Linkopings HC, who have never made it further in the CHL than the quarter-finals. In the SHL in 2016/17, Linkoping has been one of very few clubs that has been able to get the upper-hand on the table topping Frolunda, even though they sit themselves down in ninth place. Linkoping managed to hold off Frolunda 3-2 back in October, but the result that will be fresh in both clubs minds is the 3-0 domination Linkoping displayed over their quarter-final opponents, so recently as the 26th November.

“We have lost twice to them in the SHL so we really want to win these two games. It is obviously good to know the other team. We know what we need to scalp. We know what works for us and we know what we need to work on because we have been losing two games,” explains Henrik Tommernes. “At the same time they know a lot about our team so it is going to be a tough two games. We have been doing a good job until now on the games and we have been playing good two games in a row, because it is not just one game. Hopefully we can do some good things and do what we have been doing the whole season.”

The unfamiliar format of theoretically a 120-minute game – two 60 minute home-and-away meetings – is something that makes CHL playoffs unique and exciting for the fans. For the players it means that they can never drop their guard for six whole periods of play, something that Tommernes and the rest of Frolunda is well aware of.

“It is easy just to think about the first game but you have to have a good start. You can never relax, even if you have a lead in the first game, every goal counts even if you let in a 5-2 goal. That can matter in the second game. You just have to be focused totally in the two games, not just one or one-and-a-half because it can change quick and we have taken advantage of that before. It is just trying to be mentally ready for two games.”

JEREMY DARKE]]>on topClub18 Swedenon lefton rightMon, 05 Dec 2016 13:48:00 +0100The flying Austrianshttp://www.iihf.com/competition/271/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=11202
Salzburg suiting up in Finnish U20 leagueAll was not as it seemed as Finland's top under-20 division rolled on with one of its latest round of games during the second half of November. Apart from the usual suspects competing against each other, a far-flung visitor from Austria's RB Salzburg Academy had been welcomed into the fold during games played in Vaasa and Pori.

The Central European junior team will this season play a total of 12 games against the best Finland has to offer at U20 level in four separate long weekends of games held within a three-month period. Sharpening their skills in Finnish hockey marks a new chapter in the development for a crop of Salzburg players born between 1995 and 1999.

"We are very excited about this opportunity to play in Finland, which we have talked about as a measuring stick for our players," said Salzburg Academy's head coach Matt Curley as his players are tested to the limits in a national junior hockey program that enjoyed phenomenal success of late with Finland currently being reigning World Champions at both U18 and U20 level.

"Back home we now play in the Alps Hockey League, which is more of a pro league, where we face many older and established players who are a little bit stronger and more experienced than us," said Curley. "There we have been able to outskate teams by the time the third period comes around, but what I have been looking forward to in Finland is the fact that we are not going to do that here and will have to compete against guys our own age who are skating as well as we are and will be as hungry as we are."

Attempting to bridge the gap from junior to senior level for the next crop of Austrian players, Salzburg's Academy is as of this season fighting on two fronts. In the newly started AlpsHL with 16 teams including the second-tier of Austria’s senior club teams as well as teams from Italy and Slovenia, the Austrian youngsters are currently in mid-table. In Finland's U20 championship, Salzburg will not collect any points or be part of the total standings, while their Finnish opponents will have plenty to play for as the games against the Austrians will count in the total standings.

Salzburg has since the inauguration of their state of the art training centre in 2014 tried on a number of fronts to find the right formula to ease the way for their juniors into the senior team roster of the current EBEL league champions. They travelled across time zones competing in the top Russian junior league MHL during two seasons until the spring of 2015, before their jet-setting continued last season following the arrival of head coach Curley.

"We were all over the place last season. We spent time in both USA and Canada playing games, the Swiss U20 league, some in the Czech league, so ahead of this season were looking for something more stable to set a good foundation. Hannu Nykvist, who is our goalie coach within the academy as well as the pro team, had good ties with the Finnish association and from there it blossomed into this opportunity," said Curley.

Current team captain Raphael Wolf has played an integral part in the team that travelled wide and far during recent years. A towering blueliner who will turn 21 later this year month is full of praise of the latest initiative where his defensive skills are being put to a stern test.

"Finland is a new world for us and it's good to be here," said Wolf. "The hockey is different, the guys are quicker, they move the puck faster so you really have to be 100% focused and skate more," he said.

While in the past Estonian teams have made the short hop across the Gulf of Finland to play in leagues within the greater Helsinki region, opening up the top level of their U20 championship to a team from the centre of Europe marks a new venture for Finnish ice hockey. For Vaasan Sport, who played host to Salzburg's debut in Finnish junior hockey, the exchange is looked upon as something positive.

"It has been exciting for our club when you are not totally familiar with the opponent's game plan ahead of the game and then see it become clearer as the game wears on," said Sport's Team Leader Johan Hagstrom as his team, following their 6-2 win over Salzburg, got time to familiarize themselves more with their visitors both on and off the ice with Salzburg staying in Vaasa for one week.

"After this experience, we will be open for further exchange with other foreign teams, as we also have facilities to host visitors with our four ice rinks under the same roof," said Hagstrom.

Salzburg's short time spent in Finland appears to have paid dividends already. After getting adjusted to their new environment and in front of a wide array of player scouts, Salzburg started their Finnish adventure in Vaasa with three straight losses and a goal difference of 7-17. Less than a week later they travelled further down the West coast to Pori proving that they were not going to be any pushovers. After two narrow one-goal defeats against Tappara Tampere and Assat Pori, Salzburg recorded their first victory on Finnish soil with a fine 3-1 win over TPS Turku.

"Coming to Finland also means that a lot of responsibility is on us too in order to make sure we give the teams up here good games and will be competitive," said head coach Curley, who in the past coached the likes of Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk at the U.S. U18 national team and is now quickly becoming familiar with the level of Finnish junior hockey.

"I didn't know too much about the league before coming here, but I have been very impressed. Our opponents play with a lot of speed and energy just like the Finnish national team. But for us, our big focus is to continue to play with pace and energy which has given us success in Central Europe," said Curley.

Just as Salzburg appears to have hit form and come into their stride in Finland, they have now returned back home for league games in the AlpsHL. Their Finnish adventure is set to continue during the second half of January with games played in Lappeenranta and Rauma.

HENRIK MANNINEN]]>on topClub01 Austria06 Finlandon lefton rightSun, 04 Dec 2016 09:25:00 +0100Larocque stays focusedhttp://www.iihf.com/competition/271/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=11201
Canadian with PyeongChang on horizon“I think for myself, I was happy with how I played. I worked hard,” Larocque said when asked to assess her effort. “I tried to keep it simple and played tough against the Americans. It’s always a fun opportunity to play against them. It’s always fast-paced and it’s an intense rivalry, so it’s a lot of fun.”

Certainly Larocque is no stranger to the preeminent international rivalry in women’s hockey. The pinnacle of her success came in 2014 at the Bolshoy Ice Dome in Sochi, Russia when she and her teammates gleefully claimed the gold medal at the Winter Olympics, the fourth consecutive triumph for Canada at the Games.

Larocque also won a Women’s World Championship gold medal in 2012 when Canada won an overtime thriller, much to the disappointment of the host nation’s fans in Burlington, Vermont. Conversely, Larocque has had to settle for a silver medal at the tournament on four occasions, grudgingly enduring the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” instead of “O Canada” each time, most recently last spring on home ice in Kamloops, British Columbia.

With the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, Korea just over one year away, Larocque aspires to defend her country’s reign atop the podium. But with Canada having an abundance of blue line talent – especially in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League in which Larocque captains her club team, the Brampton Thunder – the rugged rearguard knows full well that her place on the team hasn’t yet been guaranteed.

“Definitely you can never feel complacent,” she said. “Coming from such a strong country, it’s never a feeling I’ve ever felt, because I always know that there are people vying for my spot. I continuously keep that fire, keep that drive and work hard every day and make sure that I have no regrets. Whether or not I make it, as long as I leave the tryout knowing I have no regrets, I’ll be happy.”

Larocque’s passion for the game was instilled at an early age during the player’s upbringing in the rural community of Ste. Anne, Manitoba. At just three years old, Larocque was inspired by her sister Chantal, 18 months her senior, to pick up a stick and lace up the skates.

“Coming from a small town there wasn’t a lot to do. We had an outdoor rink in our backyard, and my older sister played hockey and I looked up to her a lot,” Larocque said. “Growing up I always looked up to her, and she was someone that pushed me and drove me to be better every day. I got a lot of opportunities to play with her, and she was my idol growing up, and my mentor. I wouldn’t be where I am today without her.”

Larocque became a member of Canada’s national program in 2008 and enjoyed a productive college career at the University of Minnesota Duluth. She not only won a pair of NCAA championships, but also became the school’s only two-time First Team All-American defenceman. In her senior year, 2010/11, she was a nominee for the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey.

One of her assistant coaches during her tenure with the Bulldogs was current Team Canada women’s head coach Laura Schuler. Larocque has enjoyed being a pupil under Schuler’s guidance over the years, but was also quick to downplay any potential advantage that she might gain from her familiarity with her mentor.

“She’s very knowledgeable, so it’s fun to have been coached by her before,” Larocque said of her bench boss. “She’s so passionate. It’s nice to have people in those spots that care so much and do everything they can for the team. And that’s what she does as a coach.”

Larocque graduated from UMD with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and, in 2012, she was chosen by Alberta, sixth overall, at the CWHL Draft. Two years later, she was traded to Brampton in exchange for her childhood friend and national teammate Bailey Bram.

“We grew up together,” Larocque said of her fellow 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship gold medallist and Ste. Anne native. “Her dad was my coach, we played together a lot, I played with her brothers. Her parents would babysit me. Growing up, I would always see where she was, how her seasons were going, we’d always hang out. To have her as a teammate is really special because she’s one of my closest friends.”

At the Sochi Olympics, Larocque paired with Meaghan Mikkelson to form an effective shutdown duo. Canada capitalized on its chance to win the gold-medal game versus the United States in overtime after its competitive life was miraculously salvaged by the width of a goal post in the dying moments of regulation.

With the expectations of the nation looming large once again, Larocque is eager for a return to glory. Her life is never far from the rink. Currently she owns a gym and coordinates hockey programs with adults and children, including kids who dream of following in her footsteps and someday wearing the maple leaf for their country.

On the ice, her competitive edge is an asset to her game on which she leverages, in the hopes of securing her plane ticket to Korea in 2018.

“I always play hard. I always try to play within the rules,” she said. “Sometimes I play along that line. I’m never trying to get a penalty, but I’m always trying to play hard and tough.”

It is the second time in history that the World Juniors will take place in the Western province of British Columbia. In 2006, Vancouver co-hosted the tournament along with Kelowna and Kamloops. That year, Victoria, the provincial capital, got two exhibition games (USA-Sweden and Sweden-Norway) at Bear Mountain Arena.

The announcement came at Rogers Arena, the site of the 2010 Olympic hockey tournament (known then as “Canada Hockey Place”). Also the home of the Vancouver Canucks, it will host 19 games, including the medal round.

“This is symbolic of what the game should really be at the end of the day – the experience of a lifetime,” said Hockey Canada CEO Tom Renney. “We want to make it an athletic experience like none other, so that children continue to want to try to play hockey. That is the bigger game we play.”

The Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre will host 14 games in Victoria. The 2005-completed building, with a capacity of 7,400, is home to the WHL’s Victoria Royals.

“It was just an automatic to go to Victoria,” said Barry Petrachenko, the Victoria-based CEO of BC Hockey and a co-chair of the organizing committee along with Vancouver Giants majority owner Ron Toigo. “I think it’s going to mean a lot to the city. Victoria is a hockey town, and it’ll be great to bring this event to our city.”

Toigo reminisced nostalgically about Canada’s second straight gold medal in 2006 under head coach Brent Sutter: “To win in the manner they did – in this building here, against Russia, 5-0 – it was just a great experience for everybody. When that was over, we said: ‘That was a lot of fun. We’d like to do this again.’”

The 2006 tournament enjoyed a then-record attendance of 325,138. The current record is 455,342 from the 2012 tournament in Edmonton and Calgary.

Coleman said the provincial government would provide $2.3 million CAD to the tournament, with $300,000 allocated for legacy programs for BC youth hockey. As in 2006, the government will also supply a $10-million guarantee to the event.

“Last time, it wasn’t called on because of TV revenues and the success in Vancouver,” said Coleman. “It was never touched. But for the success of an event like this, it’s important to know that governments will step up and be partners.

Vancouver and Victoria beat out three strong competing bids: Edmonton-Calgary, London-Windsor, and Winnipeg-Saskatoon.

“When you put on an international event of this magnitude, everybody’s wearing Canadian jerseys,” Toigo said. “Everybody’s proud of being Canadian. It’s just a real good event for the community at large. It’s good for the economy as well.”

The 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship will also take place in Canada. Sites will be announced at a future date.